by G. Sax, Head of Communications, RESO
This week’s interview is with Matt Hendricks, Vice President, Industry Affairs at Zillow and RESO board member. We talked about what the term “Industry Affairs” actually means, applying a broker background to the sensibilities of a technology company and dat frat life. Enjoy!
Q1: You have been at Zillow for more than ten years under six different titles related to brokerage, strategy and industry affairs. It’s a unique trajectory, but now you have found yourself wholly under the “Industry Affairs” banner. What is your approach to this term?
Matt: My titles have been a blend of engagement, development, politicking, educating and mythbusting. There is always something out there on social media or in the rumor mills about what Zillow is or is not. My team is there to make sure people hear directly from the source as to what we are doing.
Industry Affairs for us is not sales at all. It’s about dealing with everything that affects the organized real estate industry. One thing I have always believed is that regardless of titles, things will always change. If my job doesn’t change every six months, am I really challenging myself, and am I really at the epicenter of what matters most in this industry?
We are in the relationship business, and we have been around for many years. We are deeply entrenched in this industry and want to be in the rooms and at the events where issues are discussed, where real estate policy is being shaped, and where critical data standards are built. You have to build those relationships to have a voice, to have an opinion.
One thing has never changed though – Zillow’s deep-rooted consumer focus. When the consumer is the North Star, and you provide them with what they want, everyone else around them will be successful.
Q2: It says “Licensed Real Estate Broker in AZ, CO, UT, NV” right on your LinkedIn profile. That’s a bold look. Are you bringing that fighting broker spirit to the RESO board to help us expand into more broker initiatives?
Matt: I lean into my broker experience. I’m proud of being a broker, and it brings an important aspect of my past to the table. For every agent and broker I talk to as a Zillow employee, I get to say that I’ve been through it.
I was a commercial real estate broker in Arizona during the Great Recession. I also dealt with foreclosures, REOs and flips – anything to put food on the table. Being able to survive during that time and in one of the most hard hit parts of the country goes a long way toward relatability and trust.
As for RESO, you’ve seen me at meetings, and I’ve been involved at conferences. The voice of standards is bigger than the MLS. Without agents and brokers, this industry doesn’t exist. We need to make sure that MLSs are paying attention to what’s important to them, especially down to the data level.
Tech is getting easier and easier, but it’s not always easy for practitioners to see the return on investment in data standards and policy standards around data. If more people took the time to really look at it, they would see that data is likely to get more fragmented. It is going to affect things beyond the data itself, like being able to do proper appraisals, accurate comps or detailed home inspections. With less data transparency and visibility, how does that affect home price accuracy or underwriting? How does that affect the consumer experience? How does that affect the professionals’ ability to do their job? How does that affect any person’s ability to get “home”?
Q3: You went to Arizona State University at a time when it was widely considered a top-tier party school with a strong Greek tradition. That reputation has changed in recent years. Now they have ranked first for innovation for 11 straight years, partnered with Mayo Clinic and expanded their campus away from Tempe into Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, adding more than 100 buildings to their portfolio. Has their reputation for partying declined because you and your Pi Kappa Alpha bad self left or does it have to do more with Michael Crow becoming the university’s president in 2002 right after you finished your education there?
Matt: First and foremost, go Devils. I am still very much involved in my chapter and we just celebrated its 75th anniversary at ASU. After I finished my undergrad, I actually worked as a chapter consultant for the fraternity, which involved visiting fraternity chapters all over the country. I think I went to about 40 of them in a year, many schools I didn’t know existed and now have great memories of. It’s those memories that actually help as I am going through college searches with my oldest daughter right now.
ASU was a great party school while I was there, but I do believe that you can find a party at any school. College kids are college kids, and I have seen a lot of universities. I had a tough degree in Supply Chain Management and other activities that kept me busy, but I definitely had a good time during my undergrad.
I am proud of ASU and the fact that it has become a top-tier university in business, innovation, education and AI.
Three Questions is a lighthearted interview series that features real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards.
